Security men harass Israel stand at ITB Berlin

Embarrassing scenes were witnessed at the ITB trade fair in Berlin last week when three men who were supposed to be in the event’s security team staged an impromptu protest at the Israel stand.

Police were forced to pull the guards away after the three men marched to the stand on Thursday afternoon shouting “Free Palestine!”

The men, who witnesses said appeared to be of Arabic background, were employed at the ITB event by a private security firm.

They massed around the Israeli tourism ministry’s stand shouting “Freiheit für Palästina!” and “Free Palestine!” according to media reports.

The three individuals were later reported to have been suspended from their jobs.

Security warning
Police in Berlin have previously warned that men employed by private security companies in the German capital sometimes have connections to radical mosques.

There are also concerns about growing anti-Semitism in the city’s immigrant neighbourhoods, although police statistics show no specific increase in anti-Semitic crime in Germany. Towards the end of last year, Israeli flags were burned at an anti-Israel demonstration.